Pucks and Pitchforks
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Analyzing Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko’s Fit With New Jersey Devils

By Vincent Parise

CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 23: The New Jersey Devils select center Nico Hischier with the 1st pick in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft on June 23, 2017, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Daniel Bartel/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 23: The New Jersey Devils select center Nico Hischier with the 1st pick in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft on June 23, 2017, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Daniel Bartel/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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New Jersey Devils Nico Hischier
(Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images) /

Jack Hughes

The guy who will likely go to whoever wins the NHL Draft Lottery will be Jack Hughes. He’s pretty much been the consensus 1st-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft for a year. His older brother Quinn Hughes went seventh overall to the Vancouver Canucks last year. This really is turning out to be a great hockey family. Jack is a bit undersized at 5’10”, but so is Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane. When you are good, you are good.

Hughes is a center playing for the United States National Development Team. He had an incredibly successful tenure with them and broke all sorts of records. Some thought he would end up in the NCAA last summer but that ended up not being the case. In the end, it didn’t really matter all that much because he would have had an amazing year no matter what.

In 101 games played with the USDP, he had 202 points. That is great at any level. He is a very capable offensive player who will likely step into the NHL and make an impact right away. If he was given some wingers who can put the puck in the net, it is possible that he has a really nice year as a playmaker.

How would he fit in on the New Jersey Devils? Well if the Devils chose to make him a center than it would likely push Pavel Zacha to the wing. Travis Zajac would be a fantastic third line center on a good team and Nico Hischier would assume his position as the top line center. If Hughes offense passed Nico’s in short order then they could flip top line roles but right away Hughes would probably be protected in the lineup.

If he was the second line center on this team that would be great for him and the Devils. If Taylor Hall and Jesper Bratt could stay healthy, they would make a really nice line with Hischier at the top. Then you could slot Kyle Palmieri down to play with Hughes. The Devils have needed second line help for a while as they pretty much have a set first and third line. Bumping Palmieri down to play with a playmaking center like Hughes would do wonders for this attack.

Palmieri can score 25 in his sleep so 35-40 with a playmaking center like Hughs is a real possibility. They have seemingly wanted to have Palmieri on the second line for a while for depth scoring but they always seem to revert to him going back on the top line. Depth is key in the NHL and adding a center like Jack Hughes would really go a long way.

The second power play unit has been a bit of an issue even when this team is fully healthy. Of course, the top unit with Taylor Hall making everyone look better is a serious threat, but the second unit needs help. If a guy like Hughes came in and made plays on the second unit then we could be talking about one of the best power plays in the league. The Devils could probably provide the best situation for Hughes out of any team with the best three odds.

Someone who would probably benefit the most from adding Hughes is Nico Hischier. All of the pressure that he has would decrease a little bit. He would be able to play his game for what it probably is. He is an awesome two-way center and his point totals arent of the elite offensive centerman in the league, but the two-way game is getting there. Hughes is more of an offensive-minded center who would make another line just as if not more dangerous than the Nico line.

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